Steam carbon-remover



F. FOSTER.

STEAM CARBON REMOVER.

APPLICATION FILED NOV.28, 1919.

1,358,946, Patented Nov. 16, 1920.

WITNESS: INVEN TOR.

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PATENT OFFICE.

FRANK.FOSTER, OF KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI.

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Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Nov. 16-, 1920.

Application filed November 28, 1919. Serial No. 341,181.

T 0 all whom it may concern.

Be it known that I, FRANK Fosrna, a citizen of the United States, residing at Kansas City, in the county of Jackson and State of Missouri, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Steam Carbon-Removers, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to means for re moving carbon deposits from internal combustion engines and their spark plugs and the invention embodies a steam generator adapted to be seated upon the exhaust manifold of the engine to receive the heat radiated from said exhaust manifold, a valve mechanism to admit air and to receive the steam as it escapes from said generator, and a tube to conduct the admixture of air and steam from the valve mechanism to the intake manifold, where it is drawn in with the combustible mixture by the suction of the engine pistons.

Inorder that the invention may be fully understood, reference will now be had to the accompanying drawing, in which:

Figure '1 is a broken'side elevation of an engine with my device connected to the exhaust and intake manifolds of said engine.

Fig. 2 is an enlarged cross section on line IIII of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a longitudinal section of the valve mechanism.

Fig. 4 is an end elevation of one of the valve plugs.

In carrying out the invention, I employ a steam generator 2 having a curved bottom portion 4 to fit over the tube of the exhaust manifold A, of the engine C. The generator 2 is supplied with water through an inlet 6, which is normally closed by a cap 8. The steam or vapor escapes through an outlet port 10 in the upper portion of said generator 2.

12 designates a valve casing having an inlet port 14 at its lower portion. The valve casing 12 is closed at one end by a screw cap 16, which is internally threaded to receive a correspondingly threaded valve stem 18 provided at its outer end with a handle 20 and at its inner end with a disk 22 and a cork or other compressible valve plug 24. The disk 22 has a swivel connection 26 with the inner end of the valve stem 18, so that the latter may be rotated without rotating the disk 22 and the valve plug 24. The permanently closed end 20 of the shell 12 is provided with a nipple 30 which is threaded into a nipple 32 formed integral with a screw cap 34 closing one end of a valve casing 36, permanently closed at its opposite end 37 which is provided with a nipple 38. The valve casing 36 is provided with a cork or other light check valve 40 which is free to move back and forth in the valve casing 36. The valve plugs are of less diameter than their respective casings and each has grooves 42 formed in one end for the passage of the admixture of steam and air to the nipples 30 and 38 when said valve plugs abut the permanently closed ends of their respective casings.

48 designates a tube connected at one end to the nipple 38 and at its opposite end to a coupling 50 connected to a nipple 52 on the intake manifold B. The upper portion of the tube 48 lies directly on top of the ex haust manifold A to receive the heat radiated therefrom, which prevents condensation of the admixture of air and steam in its passage to the intake manifold B. The tube 48 also lies in a groove 54 in the top of the generator 2 and exerts sufficient downward pressure upon said generator 2 to hold it on the exhaust manifold A. A small yoke 56 is employed to firmly secure the tube 48 to the generator 2 to prevent the latter from slipping backwardly upon the exhaust manifold A. p

In practice the valve casing 12 is so positioned that its inlet port 14 is disposed slightly above the outlet port 10 of the generator 2 to not only suck in the steam escaping from said generator, but, also, to draw in a portion of the surrounding atmosphere which mixes with the steam and is drawn through the tube 48 into the intake manifold 8 by the suction of the engine pistons. As the admixture of steam and air enters the intake manifold B from the tube 48, it inter-mixes with the combustible mixture and not only adds to the efliciency thereof, but also serves to remove any carbon deposits within the engine and on the spark plugs. While there is little or no danger of back pressure arising in the tube 48 should such bacld pressure occur, the mixture within said tubing 48 is prevented from blowing backward through the inlet port 14 by the check valve 40, which will be forced backwardly by such back pressure against the end of the nipple 30, thus closing the same. The amount of air and steam entering the valve mechanism is controlled by adjusting the valve plug 24 toward or away from the nipple 32, and if more air than steam is desired, the casing 12 is rotated axially to carry the inlet port 14 away from the outlet port of the generator 2. If desired the valve plug 24, which is compressible may be forced against the end of the casing 12 to cut off all flow of the mixture to the check valve casing 36.

From the foregoing be readily understood that I have provided means whereby carbon deposits are attacked and removed from internal combustion engines and" their spark plugs, and while I have shown and described the preferred form of the invention, I reserve the right to make such changes in the construction, proportion and arrangement of parts as properly fall within the spirit and scope of the claim.

Having thus described my invention, what description it will.

I claim and desire to secure by Letters Pat ent, is: r

In combination with an internal combustion engine, a steam generator having an opening for the discharge of steam and a bottom curved to fit the curvature of the exhaust manifold of the engine, a manually controlled valve having an inlet port spaced from the opening in the steam generator to receive the steam therefrom and air from the surrounding atmosphere, a check-valve to which said manually controlled valve dis charges the mixture of air and steam, the connection between the valves being such as to permit axial adjustment of the manually controlled valve so that its inlet port may be disposed closer or farther from the opening in the generator, and a tubelto conduct the mixture from the check-valve to the intake manifold of the engine. 7

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

FRANK FOSTER.

l Vitnesses i F. Gr. FrsoHEn, L. J. FISCHER. 

